Wanted to catch the Arsenal vs Man United game live at the Emirates without selling a kidney. Figured I’d document my whole ticket-hunting mess.
Stage 1: Official Site Heartbreak
Logged into Arsenal’s ticket portal the minute sales opened. Straight-up nightmare. Cheapest seats were £350+ before fees! Even the nosebleed sections? Gone in under 10 minutes. Only “hospitality packages” left – starting at £600 per person. Yeah, nope.
Stage 2: Resale Sites Roulette
Hopped over to three reseller platforms everyone uses. Made a brutal spreadsheet:
- Site A: £299 base price + £45 “service fee” (plus another £12 “delivery fee” for a digital ticket??)
- Site B: £275 base, but with £60 service charge buried in checkout
- Site C: Listed “from £230!” – clicked through and cheapest was actually £420 after taxes
All required signing up for accounts just to see real pricing. Absolute time-waster.
Stage 3: Dodgy Telegram Groups
Friend sent me fan group links. Got DMs offering tickets for £190-£220. Felt sketchy as hell. One guy demanded cash payment upfront with no buyer protection. Another sent a pixelated screenshot of a “ticket” that looked fake. Blocked everyone after 3 hours of paranoid back-and-forth.
Stage 4: My Big Break (Sorta)
Randomly refreshed Site B at 11pm. Saw £285 total for a single seat – still overpriced but lower than anything else. Panic-bought instantly. Got charged another £15 “processing fee” during payment. Whatever.
Final Damage Control
Ended up paying £300 total after all hidden fees. Still outrageous compared to normal games, but saved like £200 versus hospitality tix. Lesson? Official sales are a joke for big matches, resellers are parasites with fake “fees,” and NEVER trust randos online. Just set alerts and mash refresh till your fingers bleed.
